Sharing lessons learnt from NZ’s earthquakes 

On 21 March, library, archives and museum professionals with a responsibility for disaster management will meet in Brisbane for a one-day Disaster Preparedness Seminar hosted by NSLA and the State Library of Queensland. Topics for discussion include:

• communications
• impact on collections
• long-term learnings
• experiences of staff.

One of the speakers is Dyane Hosler from the National Library of New Zealand’s Christchurch Centre. When the devastating earthquake of February 2011 struck, the Christchurch Centre was badly damaged. Due to structural damage, it was later demolished. For Dyane and the members of the Curriculum Services team she leads, it was the start of a long and often uncertain journey.

“The immediate impact on staff was the constant changes and a sense of living on edge as the aftershocks continued,” she says. “Roads were unpassable, parts of the city zoned off, homes unsafe to occupy, and in some areas people were without water, electricity and sewage. Many fled the city altogether.”

Unable to return to their jobs at the Centre for 10 months, some staff volunteered with relief efforts, such as the student army or Civil Defence; for others placements were found in schools, public libraries or by commuting weekly to another National Library Centre. Of this interim period Dyane says, “The biggest challenge for me was understanding the importance of communication. This included communicating with team members to check on their emotional wellbeing and ability to work and, importantly, communicating outwards to stakeholders and across our organisation.”

In May 2011, Christchurch staff were given a one-day “window of opportunity” to return to the old building and retrieve the 130,000 resources that remained there. “Big, burly men were hired to enter the building with wheelbarrows,” remembers Dyane. “We waited outside, frantically stacking the books into containers which then went into storage for three months until we set up again.”

Dyane sees the Disaster Preparedness Seminar as an opportunity to learn from each other. “I’m sure there will be connections from disasters experienced that will help us prepare for the future,” she says.

The National Library Christchurch Centre reopened in a new location in December 2011.

See the full seminar program.

Image by Aotearoa People's Network Kaharoa, licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0)